One of my favorite pieces of gear is my monocular. Not only does it allow me to identify a lot more birds than I otherwise would, it is also great for looking at all variety of wildlife. On the CDT it was especially great for viewing Pronghorn and Moose. On more than one occasion I even used it to identify a hiker off in the distance! I saw more birds than I identified, but figuring out the sparrows and water birds sometimes takes more time than I’m willing to spend when we are trying to get our miles in. Here is the list of birds I was able to identify with confidence, mostly in order of appearance from Mexico to Canada.
- Northern Mockingbird
- Turkey Vulture
- Yellow-Rumped Warbler
- House Finch
- House Sparrow
- Dark Eyed Junco
- Phainopepla
- Bridled Titmouse
- American Crow
- Northern Cardinal
- Red-Tailed Hawk
- Bullock’s Oriole
- Mexican Jay
- Mourning Dove
- White-Winged Dove
- Canyon Wren
- Mexican Whip-Poor-Will
- American Robin
- Acorn Woodpecker
- Common Raven
- Spotted Towhee
- Common Merganser
- Great Blue Heron
- Black Headed Grosbeak
- Steller’s Jay
- Mallard
- Gambel’s Quail
- Black Phoebe
- Mountain Bluebird
- Western Bluebird
- Mountain Chickadee
- Canyon Towhee
- Northern Flicker
- Western Kingbird
- Wild Turkey
- Brown-Headed Cowbird
- Western Tanager
- Canada Goose
- White-Crowned Sparrow
- Black-Billed Magpie
- White-Tailed Ptarmigan
- Wilson’s Warbler
- Broad-Tailed Hummingbird
- Northern Flicker
- Gray Jay
- Dusky Grouse
- Hermit Thrush
- Tree Swallow
- Horned Lark
- American White Pelican
- Osprey
- Red-Naped Sapsucker
- Bald Eagle
- Brewer’s Blackbird
- Cliff Swallow
- Barn Swallow
- Red-Winged Blackbird
- Common Nighthawk
- Brewer’s Sparrow
- Killdeer
- Ruddy Duck
- Green-Tailed Towhee
- Greater Sage-Grouse
- White-Throated Sparrow
- Northern Harrier
- Common Poorwill
- Spotted Sandpiper
- Clark’s Nutcracker
- Ruby-Crowned Kinglet
- Black-Capped Chickadee
- White-Breasted Nuthatch
- Sandhill Crane
- Pine Grosbeak
- American Three-Toed Woodpecker
- Cassin’s Finch
- Spruce Grouse
- Ruffed Grouse
Hiking Hammonds 
That bird is so well camouflaged. What type of bird is it?
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That one is a Ptarmigan, and since camouflage is their defense, they tend to stay still for photos!
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Great photo 🙂
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WOW
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That is quite a list!! Good for you😊
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What monocular do you use? I just got rid of a cheap crappy one that was a freebie when I bought my binos, but I am thinking of getting a better one for the pct if I can justify the weight . Thanks!
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I just have a cheapie I found at my parent’s house. It’s a Simmons Field 7.1 Model 8×21. It’s probably worth about $15, but the 8x magnification works well enough. I don’t think it’s waterproof though, it gets a little foggy on wet days.
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The one I had was 7×18. Mag was OK but I thought the field of view was way too small, and optics not so good. It was super lightweight though. Maybe I am just spoiled by halfway-decent binoculars. Nice bird list, and congrats on your Triple Crown!
-Mary Anne
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It definitely takes me a few weeks to adjust to using it vs. binoculars. It takes me longer to sight and focus with the monocular, so it can be frustrating. Thanks!
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